


Single Handed

by loveandwar007



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Angst, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Mute Link (Legend of Zelda), Post-Calamity Ganon, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-12
Updated: 2019-06-12
Packaged: 2020-05-01 18:12:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19183099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loveandwar007/pseuds/loveandwar007
Summary: The queen of Hyrule tends to her injured captain of the guard, discovering his need to be healed in more ways than one.





	Single Handed

“Drink up,” Zelda said, folding Link’s left hand over the steaming mug of tea she had brought him up from the kitchen. His right hand, bound in a sling along with the rest of his arm, was still against his torso as he lay confined to his bed. As far as Zelda could recall, she had never seen this happen before, not even during the Calamity. Link’s bones seemed to be made of steel or some other impenetrable material, the way he would move with ease even after taking a severe hit.

She had not been there to see a single swing from a rogue hinox blaze past his ill-timed shield, nor hear the sickening crunch of his arm crumpling, and she was glad of it. And was even more glad of the fact that the outcome had not been worse. Link had managed to sling a fatal shot with his bow and arrow before the shock and numbness wore off, and agonizing pain settled in. Everyone in the castle knew something had to be very wrong when the silent knight was crying out in pain upon his return, and a confirmed break was diagnosed within the hour.

For two weeks, Link was stuck in his bed in the royal guard’s quarters, instructed to remain out of the field until he was properly healed. And Zelda was growing more worried by the day. He barely ate or slept, and worst of all she couldn’t understand why -- _literally._ Not only was Link unable to engage in combat without the use of his right hand, but could no longer use Hylian Sign to communicate nor write out his intentions on paper. At first she was able to decipher by reading his lips, but now Link had stopped trying to form words altogether. It was as if all desire to reach others had been sapped out of him, becoming the emotionless pillar he had been before the Calamity and before Zelda had gotten him to open up. Only now, this somehow felt worse.

“I’m not leaving until you drink,” the queen ordered, using a hardened tone on her stubborn knight. Link’s eyes darted up at her, lingering dimly for a moment before raising the mug to his lips at last, taking a long sip. He was doing it begrudgingly, to make her satisfied enough to stop badgering him. Zelda arranged the skirt of her nightdress and robe so she could sit beside him on the bed, studying his features as he drank his tea for any sign of his inner struggles. They had to be there, she could see it in the tightening of his jaw despite his attempts to keep his face blank.

Link wanted to be left alone, and for the first few days Zelda had done just that. But she couldn’t stay away for long, she cared about him far too much to let him suffer in solitude. But this sulky Link she encountered time after time was tiresome, draining, and frankly getting on her last nerve.

“I consulted the healers, and they say it very well may be four more weeks until you can resume guard duty,” Zelda went on tensely, and Link choked at that, wiping at the tea that spilled down his chin as he coughed. “You’ll rest here for at least another week, and then they’ll prepare some exercises for you to ease your arm back into its proper usage.”

His blue eyes hardened at her, and she frowned. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m doing what’s best for you, Link. And since you know now that this isn’t going to be an overnight fix, I suggest you turn your attitude around.” Link grunted in the back of his throat before lowering his eyes back to his cup. Zelda bit her lip; she was talking to him like he was merely a subject of hers, another knight on her guard or a particularly sticky trade partner. Not the man who had remained by her side against all odds, saved her and granted her new life as she had done for him. Not the man who helped her rebuild Hyrule from the ground up for the past four years, she becoming its queen and he the captain of the royal guard. Not the one who…

She twisted the wooden ring around her left finger, a gift from the Deku Tree for their secret ceremony. A gem upon her hand would have given it away, and she knew some of their close friends already suspected as much, but it was still important that it never became public knowledge. Once the whole kingdom knew, so would their enemies. And then the attacks would be relentless, desperate to tear them apart, with their people caught in the crossfire. No, it was imperative that her and Link’s marriage remain a secret.

However, in their own privacy, Zelda placed her hand over his injured one, careful not to put too much weight on it. “I promise you’ll be good as new before you know it,” she tried more gently. But he still didn’t look at her, his grip around the half empty mug tightening. “It’s only another month. What could possibly happen in a m--?”

She gasped when Link’s good arm shot up, flinging the mug across the room with a piercing battle shout, sending it sailing into the stone wall where it shattered, a brown stain splattering its grey finish. Letting out a slow breath, Zelda watched him glare at the spot on the wall as if targeting a monster that had struck her. But instead of feeling a mixture of fear and wonder, she only felt anger and helplessness.

“Was that really necessary?” she snapped loudly, her soothing tone evaporating completely. “I don’t have to help you. I have an entire kingdom to run. Yet I chose to be here because I love you more than my duties. But you, Link, are ungrateful and acting like a _child!_ All because you can’t swing your precious sword around for a few more weeks!” She jumped up from the bed, whirling on her heel to stomp towards the door. “So I’m finished. Summon me when you’re over your bruised pride.”

She was barely out of reach when fingertips brushed against her hand, followed by a sharp hiss of pain. Pressing her lips into a thin line, she turned to see Link withdrawing his injured arm back into its cloth sling, and she realized that he had painfully extracted it to stop her from leaving. A small whine emitted from him, and his wife’s rage abated, reaching down to help him ease his arm back into its resting place.

“There...now don’t do that again,” Zelda whispered, smoothing down the length of his strawberry blonde hair past his neck while he relaxed. Link reached over and placed his left hand over hers, his own wooden ring lining up beside her own. Zelda tried to stop her heart from melting, since she was still quite miffed at him.

He then fisted his good hand, bringing it up to his chest and circling it, _“I’m sorry.”_

“I know you are,” Zelda nodded, unclenching her teeth. “You’ve been rather irritating this past fortnight. I know it’s difficult to not be the Hero of Hyrule for a little while, but that’s no reason to--”

He shook his head.

“No?” Zelda inquired. “‘No’ what?”

He shook it harder.

“Link, I don’t understand.”

That only made him more exasperated, glaring down at his injury before flinging his left arm over to the nightstand and wrenching open the drawer, where he found pen and paper.

“No, Link don’t, you’ll only aggravate your arm more!” Zelda tried to stop him, grabbing the pen away. He snatched it right back and took it up in his left hand, spreading the paper messily on the bed comforter before writing. It was shaky and nearly illegible, but Zelda deciphered it as best she could.

 _“Not...about…the...sword.”_ She blinked, “You mean why you’re so upset?”

He fisted his hand against his chest again, his thumb sticking out, and shook his head once more.

“Not your pride,” Zelda repeated before sighing. “What _is_ this all about then?”

Link paused, as if unsure how to say the next part. Lowering his eyes to the paper, his hand shook as he tediously wrote four more words, his tremor having nothing to do with using his non-dominant hand.

 _“‘Can’t...protect...you.’”_ Her eyes fell on the last word before it blurred with a sudden onset of tears. _“‘Useless’.”_ Link dropped the pen back on the nightstand, fisting the paper and tossing it aside. His jaw tightened once more, Adam’s apple bobbing in his neck as he swiped his wrist under his nose.

“Link, look at me.” He refused, and Zelda’s tears overflowed out of frustration and pity. “Link, you are not useless. I do not appoint useless men to my guard. These...these things just happen, even to you. You’re not invincible.” She cupped her hand around his cheek, but his neck stubbornly wouldn’t turn. “You _know_ you’re not invincible. I watched you die, remember?” He hung his head lower, and she placed a wet kiss in his hair. “And as for protecting me, you know I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”

_“I know you are.”_

She exhaled, relieved that he was mouthing words again.

 _“But...I_ _want_ _to protect you.”_ He took her hand and brought it to his lips, her heart lurching when she felt his cheek dampen. _“They’ll find out I’m hurt…”_

Zelda didn’t need to ask who “they” was.

_“And they’ll come after you. Now that I’m out of the way.”_

“We will cross that bridge if we arrive at it,” she said softly as she hugged him close, still planting kisses on top of his head. “Oh my Link, you’ve been torturing yourself with this the whole time?” He whined again followed by a dry sob, and Zelda’s heart broke open, rubbing his back as she held him even nearer to her chest. She didn’t need Hylian Sign, writing, or even his lips to know what his weeping meant: _“I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you…and I couldn’t do a thing about it.”_

 _Nor would I, if the same happened to you_. “I love you.” It was all she could say to ease him, but she meant it from the bottom of her heart. Link raised his head from her chest and kissed her lips briefly before falling wearily against his pillow, his tugging hand urging her to stay with him. Zelda wasn’t sure about that, until she heard the guards changing patrol outside. She smiled, knowing the new shift would never know she had been in here. Due to the secrecy of their union, as well as their separate duties keeping them occupied, it had been quite some time since they shared a bed.

Careful to avoid his injured arm, Zelda positioned herself on her side and slid under the covers, Link turning his head to lose himself in her emerald gaze despite having to sleep on his back. She blotted away the stray tears rolling down his cheeks, even though she could feel drops falling from her own eyes to patter onto the sheets. It was alright. Amidst all of this doubt, fear and uncertainty, they would seek comfort in each other. With or without words.

“I know you mean well, Link. But the truth is...you can’t always save me.”

Even in the dim light, she could see his eyes hardening, not with anger but with newfound strength, before his lips moved tightly:

_“I can. And I will.”_

 

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos are great, but comments are better :)


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